Old Mum, Young Mum

In this episode we follow the midwives at Birmingham Women's Hospital who care for pregnant mums at both ends of the age range and explore what it means to be an old mum or a young mum.

In the past decade, the number of women having babies in their forties has almost doubled. Bridget is the hospital's longest serving midwife who has seen it all, yet even she's a little surprised when she meets 48-year-old Artemis who is pregnant with her first child with 50-year-old partner, Bill. She conceived through IVF treatment but soon into her pregnancy she is diagnosed with gestational diabetes adding an extra level of concern for the midwives.

At the other end of the spectrum, specialist midwife Jo looks after pregnant teenagers. Last year, she worked with more than sixty young women who gave birth before they were 18 years of age. One of her teenagers is 16-year-old Elizabeth who is seven months pregnant. In her final year at school, she only realised she was expecting a baby a couple of weeks ago. We follow midwife Jo as she helps to quickly prepare Elizabeth for the life-changing prospect of becoming a mum.

Midwife Antoinette specialises in multiple pregnancies and as IVF treatment has become more common, she has seen an increase in the number of Mums carrying twins.

Thirty-eight-year-old Lisa is single and pregnant with twins after having IVF treatment using sperm from an unknown donor. She has been referred to the hospital by her GP, as her blood pressure is higher than normal. As her pregnancy becomes more complicated, midwife Antoinette keeps a close eye on Lisa. When she is brought in for an emergency section five weeks before her due date, Lisa's long awaited journey to becoming a mum suddenly takes a turn for the worse.